Text: Ed Garsten
A joint venture between Ultium Cells, LG Energy Solution and General Motors, announced that it will invest $2.6 billion to build its third U.S. battery plant in Lansing. Image source: General Motors
Just last September, Ford Motor Company, based in Dearborn, Michigan, announced a $11.4 billion investment to build factories in Kentucky and Tennessee to make electric cars and batteries, but the move made michigan, where the company is based, very unhappy. On Tuesday, General Motors Co. announced the largest manufacturing investment in the company's history to boost its plans to produce electric vehicles and batteries — in Michigan, where its Detroit headquarters are located.
The announcement came at an event in Lansing, Michigan, the largest such investment in GM's history.
Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors, announced a $7 billion investment to expand production of electric vehicles and batteries. Image credit: General Motors
Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO, announced plans to invest $7 billion in Michigan to expand the electric vehicle and battery production company. She made it clear that the company's intention is to "make our hometown the center of the electric vehicle industry." ”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also spoke after Barra because her state has lost to the South in some manufacturing investments in the past, so her remarks were slightly inflexible: "We've proven skeptics and mockers wrong." We showed everyone that we can compete for transformative projects. We can win billions of investments and thousands of jobs."
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spoke when announcing GM's $7 billion investment. Image credit: General Motors
In fact, GM says its huge investment will bring in 4,000 new jobs and keep another 1,000.
For GM, these new investments are an important step toward becoming an all-electric vehicle manufacturer. Here's how the $7 billion is distributed:
$4 billion was spent on retrofitting the Orion assembly plant in Michigan to produce electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. During the transition, the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV will continue to be produced. GM expects it will bring 2,350 new jobs and retain about 1,000 jobs when the new plant is fully operational.
Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, will invest $2.6 billion to build its third U.S. battery plant in Lansing. The plant is expected to start operations in 2024 and will create more than 1,700 new jobs.
Invest $510 million in two existing plants in the Lansing area that do not produce electric vehicles:
Lansing Grand River Assembly upgrade
Lansing Delta Township Assembly: Produces the next generation of Chevrolet Travelse and Buick Encore.
GM will also produce an electric version of the GMC Sierra pickup. Image credit: General Motors.
"When both plants are fully engaged in three shifts, our full-size electric truck capacity will reach about 600,000 units per year, and by the end of 2025, our electric vehicle capacity in North America will exceed 1 million," Barra said. ”
The Orion assembly plant will work with Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtreamke to produce electric pickup trucks starting in 2024. Other GM plants in North America that are currently being built or are being converted to produce electric vehicles include the Spring Hill Assembly in Spring Hill, Tennessee, the CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, and the Ramos Arizpe assembly plant in Mexico.
In its statement that it will eventually fully develop electric vehicles, GM said that by 2030, the company will convert half of its assembly capacity in North America into electric vehicle production.
Barra confidently says it's a gamble that will pay off: "We know there's going to be demand here. Thousands of customers have shown great interest in the electric cars we've shown, and we're going to roll out more. ”
The author of this article is a Forbes contributor and the content of this article represents the views of the author only.
Translated by Vivian School Li Yongqiang